Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Bloomberg.com
April 9, 2007
By Tony Capaccio
The cost of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Joint Strike Fighter program, the Pentagon's most expensive weapons project, has increased 8.5 percent because of reduced orders and a longer production period, according to new Pentagon figures.
The increase to $299 billion from $276 billion results from Air Force and Navy delays in buying aircraft, extending production by seven years to 2034 and rising material prices, rather than poor performance by Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon said in its latest quarterly report on weapons costs.
The Joint Strike Fighter program represents 40 percent of the overall $56.2 billion increase in costs to the Pentagon's $1.627 trillion portfolio of 89 weapons programs, according to the report, which assesses the four-month period ending Dec. 31.
The $56.2 billion increase represents a 3.5 percent overall rise in cost. Nevertheless, the new quarterly report underscores the enormity of the Pentagon's weapons portfolio and questions of its affordability.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office, in an assessment of Pentagon weapons programs issued March 30, highlighted the Joint Strike Fighter as an example of increased costs that have eroded the military's buying power when the program fell to 2,458 aircraft from an original goal of 2,886 in 1996.
The Joint Strike Fighter is designed to be a short-range fighter that's almost invisible to radar and is capable of supporting ground troops.
50 Percent Growth
The new Pentagon report also discloses that Pentagon officials are evaluating six weapons programs that have risen in cost more than 50 percent over their original estimates to determine whether they are important enough to continue or should be scaled back or canceled.
The programs are: the Boeing Co. C-130 Avionics Modernization Program, General Dynamics Corp.'s Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, General Dynamics's Land Warrior digital Army project, Raytheon Co.'s Joint Primary Air Training System, Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile and Ground-Launched Multiple-Launch Rocket System, and the Lockheed Martin-General Dynamics Warfighter Information Network-Tactical communications program.
Cost growth over 50 percent triggers a law that requires the Pentagon to report to Congress and certify that a program remains too valuable to cancel. The certifications should be complete by June, the Pentagon said.
April 9, 2007
By Tony Capaccio
The cost of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Joint Strike Fighter program, the Pentagon's most expensive weapons project, has increased 8.5 percent because of reduced orders and a longer production period, according to new Pentagon figures.
The increase to $299 billion from $276 billion results from Air Force and Navy delays in buying aircraft, extending production by seven years to 2034 and rising material prices, rather than poor performance by Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon said in its latest quarterly report on weapons costs.
The Joint Strike Fighter program represents 40 percent of the overall $56.2 billion increase in costs to the Pentagon's $1.627 trillion portfolio of 89 weapons programs, according to the report, which assesses the four-month period ending Dec. 31.
The $56.2 billion increase represents a 3.5 percent overall rise in cost. Nevertheless, the new quarterly report underscores the enormity of the Pentagon's weapons portfolio and questions of its affordability.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office, in an assessment of Pentagon weapons programs issued March 30, highlighted the Joint Strike Fighter as an example of increased costs that have eroded the military's buying power when the program fell to 2,458 aircraft from an original goal of 2,886 in 1996.
The Joint Strike Fighter is designed to be a short-range fighter that's almost invisible to radar and is capable of supporting ground troops.
50 Percent Growth
The new Pentagon report also discloses that Pentagon officials are evaluating six weapons programs that have risen in cost more than 50 percent over their original estimates to determine whether they are important enough to continue or should be scaled back or canceled.
The programs are: the Boeing Co. C-130 Avionics Modernization Program, General Dynamics Corp.'s Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, General Dynamics's Land Warrior digital Army project, Raytheon Co.'s Joint Primary Air Training System, Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile and Ground-Launched Multiple-Launch Rocket System, and the Lockheed Martin-General Dynamics Warfighter Information Network-Tactical communications program.
Cost growth over 50 percent triggers a law that requires the Pentagon to report to Congress and certify that a program remains too valuable to cancel. The certifications should be complete by June, the Pentagon said.
